A: The syndrome of carnivory has developed many times in distinct botanical
families. There is not universal agreement
on how to group these families into higher taxonomic entities.
Two ways of doing this are displayed below. The first follows a classical,
standard approach to taxonomy. The second way uses a newer set of orders and familial arrangements.
This new assessment is partially based upon chemical characters, is still being refined, and is largely
derived from Barthlott et al. (2007) and communication with Jan Schlauer.

Below you can see the orders (first column, red text), families (second column, blue text), and genera with species information
(third column, green text) for all the carnivorous plant
genera. The numbers of species for each genus are approximately current as
of this document's freshness date at the bottom of the page, and are derived from
the presentation presented in this FAQ. Species numbers
followed by a plus sign indicate cases in which I am aware of additional species descriptions in press. For my most recent
assessments of the currently described species in each genus, refer to the genus treatments that follow in this section of the
FAQ.

Note that in the genera Brocchinia,
Catopsis, Passiflora, and
Stylidium, the numbers of species indicated are the numbers that have been suspected or proven of carnivory.
There are additional, as-yet-not-considered-carnivorous species in these genera.

I admit to a certain arbitrariness in these tables.
Some plants which are probably not truly carnivorous (such as Capsella bursa-pastoris)
have been excluded from the following tables, while others (such as
Ibicella and Passiflora have been included). This table is to
be read and interpreted by you.

The Classical Arrangement

Sarraceniales

Sarraceniaceae

Darlingtonia (1 species)

Heliamphora (23+ species)

Sarracenia (11 species)

Nepenthales

Nepenthaceae

Nepenthes (131+ species)

Droseraceae

Aldrovanda (1 species)

Dionaea (1 species)

Drosera (193 species)

Drosophyllaceae

Drosophyllum (1 species)

Rosales

Roridulaceae

Roridula (2 species)

Violales

Dioncophyllaceae

Triphyophyllum (1 species)

Passifloraceae

Passiflora (1 species)

Saxifragales

Byblidaceae

Byblis (7+ species)

Cephalotaceae

Cephalotus (1 species)

Scrophulariales

Lentibulariaceae

Genlisea (26+ species)

Pinguicula (99+ species)

Utricularia (233+ species)

Pedaliaceae

Ibicella (1, non-carnivorous)

Scrophulariaceae

Philcoxia (3 species)

Bromeliales

Bromeliaceae

Brocchinia (2 species)

Catopsis (1 species)

Asterales

Stylidiaceae

Stylidium (? species)

A Newer System

Caryophyllales

Dioncophyllaceae

Triphyophyllum (1 species)

Droseraceae

Aldrovanda (1 species)

Dionaea (1 species)

Drosera (193 species)

Drosophyllaceae

Drosophyllum (1 species)

Nepenthaceae

Nepenthes (131+ species)

Ericales

Roridulaceae

Roridula (2 species)

Sarraceniaceae

Darlingtonia (1 species)

Heliamphora (23+ species)

Sarracenia (11 species)

Lamiales

Byblidaceae

Byblis (7+ species)

Lentibulariaceae

Genlisea (26+ species)

Pinguicula (99+ species)

Utricularia (233+ species)

Plantaginaceae

Philcoxia (3 species)

Oxalidales

Cephalotaceae

Cephalotus (1 species)

Poales

Bromeliaceae

Brocchinia (2 species)

Catopsis (1 species)

Scrophulariales1

Pedaliaceae

Ibicella (1, non-carnivorous)

Violales1

Passifloraceae

Passiflora (1 species)

Asterales1

Stylidiaceae

Stylidium (? species)

Notes:1I am not quite sure of where these plants would go in the new system, so beware!